All posts tagged Antonio Albanese

With allegations of an affair with a 17-year-old prostitute nicknamed Ruby swirling around Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, it seems apropos that a new satirical film chronicling the quest of a corrupt politician to save his village from morality would find a bemused audience in Italy.

“Whatsoeverly” (Qualunquemente) premiered in Italy two weeks ago and is now playing at the Berlin Film Festival out of competition.

Cetto La Qualunque, the film’s protagonist, returns home to Calabria from his hideaway in Cuba, bringing his mistress and bastard child in tow (neither of whose names he can remember). He plans to live the good life in his gaudy mansion, bulldozing Etruscan ruins to build shoddy housing complexes. But when he realizes a civil rights activist is running for mayor, he launches his own campaign, running on a platform of more prostitutes and corruption for all.

The Wall Street Journal caught up with comedian Antonio Albanese, who plays Cetto and co-wrote the screenplay, to talk in Berlin about how he hopes using comedy can save Italy from political corruption.Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.